TownTapestry
Sign inJoin
PahoaGood evening
Natural hazards · Pahoa

Pahoa, HI natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Pahoa comes from earthquakes, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations
Expected damage

How exposed is Pahoa?

100
Very high
vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Pahoa to be higher than in 100% of U.S. communities, mostly from earthquakes and inland flooding.

Earthquakes61%Inland flooding25%Volcanic activity9%Everything else5%
By hazard

What Pahoa faces

Each hazard’s share of the damage FEMA expects here, and how that compares with the rest of the country.

Earthquakes

61% of expected damage
Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

25% of expected damage
Well above average · higher than 98% of U.S. places
Recorded about 6 times a year in the area

Volcanic activity

9% of expected damage
Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Lower here

Coastal floodingHurricanesTornadoesHailWildfireLandslidesStrong windLightningTsunamis

Not a risk here

Ice stormsWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesDroughtAvalanches
Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Flood insurance claims

Does Pahoa flood?

FEMA's records show no paid flood insurance claims in Pahoa.

of all homes
are insured
No community discount. Pahoa isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: Hawaii County.
Disasters that hit Pahoa

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Pahoa itself: aid to households, or repair grants to Pahoa.

Brought FEMA money into PahoaDeclared for Hawaii County only
2026

Earthquake

18 households applied for aid $35K aid approved
2026

Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

396 households applied for aid $2.6M aid approved
2023

Wildfires and High Winds

1 household applied for aid $700 aid approved
2018

Kilauea Volcanic Eruption and Earthquakes

2,458 households applied for aid $13.1M aid approved
2006

Earthquake

50 households applied for aid $26K aid approved
Hawaii County has had 29 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often fires and hurricanes.
Around Pahoa

Pahoa and the towns around it

Hawaiian Beaches: Very high, mostly inland floodingNanawale Estates: Very high, mostly inland floodingHawaiian Paradise Park: Very high, mostly inland floodingPahoa: Very high, mostly earthquakes PahoaHawaiian BeachesNanawale Estates
Very lowLowModerateHighVery high
Pahoamostly earthquakesVery high
Hawaiian Beachesmostly inland floodingVery high
Nanawale Estatesmostly inland floodingVery high
About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.
Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Pahoa is smaller than a census tract, so it shares the figures of the tract around its center.
Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Pahoa’s own flood-insurance community; household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Pahoa. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.

The porch light’s on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Pahoa, HIView boundary

Nearby

All towns & citiesExplore the map

Local begins with a boundary.

See what belongs to your selected town.

Loading boundary…

Pahoa is your selected town. The feed includes posts assigned to this town, not a distance radius or ZIP code.

Neighborhoods narrow the feed further, while townwide announcements, events, and issues remain visible.

Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/19 · 2025-01-01
Open detailed map